•Akio Sato•

(bonus shout out to asexual women but not really on topic of pride)

Welcome back to my bimonthly apology post where I say I’m so VERY sorry for not posting, life has been so busy again 😭😭

I’ve been genuinely burnt out (not from tumblr just in general lol) so art hasn’t been very high on my to-do list, but I’m working on a couple things to get me back in the spirit!!

Ain't she just a Splendid Engine?

She did take me a bit to come up with her design, but I think she turned out lovely, I really wanted to try short hair on her and I think it turned out clean and cute! 💖

(Now I gotta work on the main engines, when I can🥱)

ive been rewatching the model series and also listing to the railway series books and have seen or heard that the fat controller (the one we see all the time with the yellow vest) is for the most part on bored Edwards train or in Edwards cab a lot of the time. there's no lie that he has a soft spot for Edward, would I say that his favorite engine is Edward, maybe, the second maybe toby. but that doesn't mean that the other engines are not his favorite he loves them all its just hes a little biased to older engines it seems. anyways, Im aware that the fat controller rides in every engines cab at some point in his life. as seen with Gordon, Henry, Thomas and Toby. but I don't think its far off He drove them or been the fireman for the engines as its shows in lady's hat birthday. just not as often in his older years, buuutttt he had to learn from somewhere, who better then the first standard gauge engine who still needs to know the ways around. so, I would say that for the first couple of years he would be Edwards driver/ fireman. and of course on his birthday he would take an open carriage ride with Edward as the engine pulling it, and mind you!! Edward is a fast engine, the Furness Railway K2 "Larger Seagull" class can reach around 75-80 roughly on the regular if allowed. so who knows, during Edwards younger years he would just be speeding around easily with an excited fat controller in the back. or he's keeping to the speed limit, just a thought.

i just rewatched it for the screenshots and like...why am I emotional God the way Edward said the fat controller love riding the carriage and his smile.

I’m going to split this up into book canon and show canon, because each of them bring unique elements to this dynamic and I feel that they’re both worth talking about!

Books- There are four separate STHs in the books, seeing as it spans over such a long period of time, but I’ll try to focus mostly on STH1.

So… the man lives in Wellsworth, right where Edward lives. For decades Edward was the only engine stationed there and they likely would have interacted quite a bit, with Edward himself probably being the one to take him to and from work. Another interesting thing about this proximity is that all the subsequent STHs would have grown up at Wellsworth with Edward likely being the engine they would have interacted with the most as kids (which I can’t help but find adorable. He’s a generational family friend…)

STH1 is shown to be very trustworthy and caring of Edward, as he very much deserves. During the early books, Edward is like the only NWR engine over 14 years old. He’s the closest thing to a confidant and fellow adult if that makes sense. The only real ‘mistake’ he ever makes is swapping trains with Thomas, but this is never treated as Edward’s fault by STH. He’s given a complete pass and then immediately used as an example by him of someone to look up to and learn from.

During the whole strike debacle it is only ever Edward’s feelings that seem to genuinely bother STH. Like, not even just that the big engines are being mean to him, but he feels bad that Edward is away from his preferred home at Wellsworth. Also the way he just compliments his wheels is really funny to me. Isn’t just like ‘no they’re wrong, you have blue wheels’. Is instead like ‘You have nice blue wheels :) and I’m proud of you :))’

And as a reward is like ‘go PLAY at Wellsworth’ lol. The wording kills me. I know it’s because engines fundamentally see work differently than humans, but still.

It’s also very likely that Edward was intended to be the first purchase of the railway. He and Thomas were purchased pretty close together, with Thomas being first only to the circumstances of the LBSC WWI shenanigans being such a perfect opportunity. But yeah, Edward… Edward was likely their forever engine from the moment he crossed the bridge. He has been heavily modified from his original shape, with a good deal of it likely being performed by STH himself. That’s just really sweet to me…

Also a random honorable mention goes to STH3 (my boy Stephen!) For just being super dramatic in Edward and the cabbages Like: OH NO. EDWARD LOST A SINGULAR WHEEL.I MUST VISIT HIM AT ONCE AND COMFORT HIM AT THE WORKS :((

Idk that moment sticks out to me. And Edward multiple times being the head engine of royal train precisions is pretty sweet too. It’s his distinguished honor.

OKAY NOW SHOW SHENANIGANS.

So… yeah ‘Happy Birthday Sir’ is absolutely adorable with Edward taking him around the island on his birthday. And Edward talking about his smile???? So cute!  And how often he tags along in Edward’s cab to go somewhere… And Edward being the poster boy for the railway…

Edward’s character descriptions are really sweet to me as well:

“When the other engines misbehave, it's Edward that Sir Topham Hatt turns to in order to calm everyone down and restore order.”

He’s like an unofficial second in command! Highly trusted and looked up to by STH.

Another honorable mention of their dynamic is one of my favorite magazine stories ‘TFC’s Diet’. Like- the entire story is Edward being a cheeky menace. (Also STH being like ‘I’m going to ride around in Edward’s cab all day why not’ as his first idea on getting out more)

STH just finds it amusing?? Grins and laughs. Like Edward can just order him around and tease him like that. The other engines complaining during the strike that ‘Edward just follows orders no matter what’ and then here he’s just like ‘lmaoooo no diet for you, time to go work in tandem with my crew all day to correct this injustice 👍’